Tiffany Rogers Bussey, DBA, MSc., MBA, PMP is the founding Director of the Morehouse Innovation & Entrepreneurship Center, a global model for providing minority serving institutions contract support in the areas of process improvement, and organizational management infrastructure development.
Dr. Bussey has over twenty years experience in various aspects of business management for corporate, small business, educational and non profit organizations. As Director of the Morehouse Innovation & Entrepreneurship Center, Dr. Bussey manages strategic teams of faculty, staff and consultants to achieve the goals of the Center, which is to assist in the development of minority entrepreneurship through scholarly research, training and consulting services. Dr. Bussey is also an adjunct professor of entrepreneurship at Morehouse College.
Dr. Bussey earned her doctorate in business administration and masters of science degree in strategic management from Edinburgh Business School, Heriot-Watt University, Scotland, U.K. She also received a masters in business administration from George Washington University in Washington D.C and a baccalaureate degree in economics from The College of Saint Elizabeth in New Jersey. Dr. Bussey is a Project Management Professional, Certified Quality Auditor, Certified Training Presenter, and a Certified Teacher of Entrepreneurship. Her research interest intersects the areas of leadership behavior and strategic change in small firms.
Bonita S. Moore has over ten years of experience in the field of contract management for small business and educational organizations. As Business Manager for the Morehouse Innovation & Entrepreneurship Center, a historically black, private liberal arts institution for African American men, Ms. Moore handles all the day-to-day operational aspects of the center.
She has an outstanding record of accomplishment in program management, general accounting, procurement, and customer service.
Ms. Moore holds a baccalaureate degree in marketing from Georgia State University in Atlanta, Georgia and provides astute knowledge in that field as well as business management.
Mike Cortez was born and raised in Vallejo, CA yet made his way to Atlanta, GA to attend Morehouse College. He majors in psychology and minors in philosophy, still he is invested in entrepreneurship.
Mike is the Student Initiative Program Coordinator for the MIEC and oversees their social media. More about Mike is that he is a poet, author, and songwriter and wishes to monetize his natural skills using the business and entrepreneurial skills he’s learning by working with the MIEC.
Candace Mitchell Harris is Founder & CEO of CVM Worldwide, a business and technology consulting firm that provides intellectual capital through subject matter experts to drive transformation and growth for Black-owned businesses. Her passion for entrepreneurship led her to serve as Program Manager for Ascend Atlanta, a technology startup and small business support ecosystem for minority-led companies.
Starting with the program’s launch in 2017, Candace leads the program design, development, and execution with the ultimate goal of helping entrepreneurs build long-term sustainability. Her mission is to build profitable businesses and disruptive technology in every sector of society. In 2012, she started her first company, Techturized Inc., a high-tech hair care company that uses AI technology to recommend the perfect products for your hair. Candace has been recognized for her work on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list, WWD’s Top 50 Beauty Innovators, BET Honors STEM Awardee, and featured nationally on CNN’s Small Business Success segment, Marie Claire Magazine’s Next Big Thing in Beauty, and countless national publications such as ESSENCE, Inc. Magazine, Black Enterprise, and more.
She graduated from Georgia Tech in 2011 with a degree in Computer Science, where she was recently named on their inaugural Top 40 Alumni list. She shares her knowledge and insight with other entrepreneurs as author of The Shift, her first book that helps entrepreneurs gain the spiritual transformation needed to endure and excel on their entrepreneurial journey.
Lavonya Jones is passionate about entrepreneurship as a solution to economic injustice and inequality. An Atlanta native, Lavonya is a third generation HBCU graduate, earning her degree in entrepreneurship, with additional education in organizational leadership. Lavonya has over fifteen years of leadership development experience training students, entrepreneurs, and professionals within for-profit and non-profit sectors, with the last five years being in innovation and entrepreneurship within the Atlanta University Center. She currently serves as the Research and Student Programs Consultant with the Morehouse Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center, supporting innovation and entrepreneurship at Minority Serving Institutions throughout the Southeast. Committed to leadership excellence and the economic empowerment of her community, Lavonya also serves young people through several local
Atlanta boards. Lavonya is on a life’s mission to equip an army of socially conscious entrepreneurs.
Danita Harris is a Strategist and Consultant who partners with companies and organizations to drive strategy, talent management, leadership development, team building and process improvement. She has over 25 years of experience in Strategic Planning, Program Management, Process Improvement, Human Resources, Facilitation, Performance Management, Training, Organizational Design and Organizational Effectiveness. She has 10+ years successfully managing projects and project teams driving efficiency, eliminating redundancies, and reducing cost.
She is currently CEO/Founder of The Harris-Harris Group, LLC, a consulting practice that focuses on transforming organizations to win by empowering entrepreneurs and business owners to thrive. One of her most recent successes is her work with a local College which secured a $2.8M grant to drive economic growth for established businesses in the metro Atlanta area where she serves as Leadership and Organizational Development Strategist/Consultant.
Prior to establishing her consulting practice, she worked for companies in multiple sectors to include Cox Communications, IBM, Bridgestone, Travelers Insurance, Central Intelligence Agency as well as non-profit organizations. She has a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Georgia. She is certified in ISO 9000, ATD Change Management and Agile Performance Management and has her Green Belt in Six Sigma. She also serves on the board for Out of Hand Theater, a non-profit organization that creates a safe space for all people to have conversations about the impact of social justice issues.
Her passion for helping entrepreneurs, business owners and young adults is equaled only by her commitment to issues of social justice and economic empowerment. She sees empowerment as both a driver for social change and the foundation of community and economic development.
